


Finding Peace

by malecvibes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Bad Parent Robert Lightwood, Barista!Magnus, Coming Out, Fluff, Good Parent Maryse Lightwood, M/M, Supportive Isabelle Lightwood, detective!alec
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-02-10 22:12:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12921279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecvibes/pseuds/malecvibes
Summary: Alec Lightwood lives with his two siblings Isabelle and Max. He's 26 years old now and he's ready to finally move on with his life.He is just starting his new job as a Detective at the NYPD. The day before starting his job, he visits a cafe that is just down from his house and meets the beautiful barista, Magnus.After briefly meeting Magnus, Alec is hooked and returns to the cafe almost every day. Isabelle and Max get curious and do some detective work of their own.AKA. the most cliche fic ever. Enjoy!!!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I am starting a new multi-chapter fic! This idea just came to me last night and I couldn't stop writing.  
> I hope you enjoy my very cliche fic, haha. I hope it'll be a big fluffy mess and makes people smile while we wait for April 2018.

It always starts out peaceful.

_Crisp Autumn air and the sounds of birds chirping joyfully as the sun peeked over the hills. The morning sun rays slowly reached Alec’s face, leaving him to close his eyes and enjoy the much-appreciated heat touch his skin. Alec smiled softly and opened his hazel eyes as he continued to walk through the paddock on their family’s farm. He reached a wooden fence where the horses were kept. His younger sister, Isabelle was going through a phase of obsessing over horse riding, so his parents Robert and Maryse brought her two._

_“Princess! Come here, girl” Alec called over to the chocolate brown horse. Slowly the mare made her way to Alec and nudged the hand he had held out. Alec chuckled lowly as he stroked the horse. Looking up to the sky, he saw the sun had left a beautiful golden glow over the hills in the distance. The small clouds in the sky were blushed rose which contrasted beautifully over the muted blue sky._

_Suddenly the mare raised up onto her hind legs, leaving Alec frightened and falling backward onto the cold hard ground below him. Princess quickly turned around and galloped into the distance.  He looked up to the sky which was slowly turning a deep red. Suddenly Alec felt like darkness was surrounding him._

_“Alec! Where are you? Alec, we need you!” screamed a voice of an older woman in the distance. Alec turned around to where he heard the voice and saw it was coming from inside their family home. Quickly stumbling back to his feet, Alec began to run towards the house. The screaming was getting louder. He could hear Isabelle crying hysterically, while his father was yelling impatiently on the phone to someone. Reaching the house, he ran up the stairs to the front door and pushed it violently open. That’s when he saw it. Max his younger brother, lying in his mother’s arms as she cried, whispering in his ear._

_“What happened? Is he okay?” Alec sobbed as he ran to his brother’s side. He looked over to Isabelle and pulled her into his arms, rocking her slowly to try and keep her calm. He looked over to his mother once again. “What happened!” He was now screaming. The tears were falling continuously down his face, his cheeks burning red with anger._

_Maryse looked over at her son and bitterly began to laugh. “This is all your fault, Alec. You have always been so selfish.” Placing Max’s small body on the ground next to her, she slowly got to her feet, looking down on Alec. “If we weren’t spending all morning looking for you, Max wouldn’t have fallen down the stairs. This is all your fault!”_

_Alec looked up at his mother in disbelief. “M-my fault? You know I spend most mornings out in the paddock!” He was hysterical now. “Is Max okay?” His mother looked away and scoffed._

_“Like you actually care, Alec. You are too busy in your own head to care about anything around you.” Maryse looked down at Max and began to sob again. “My baby! My poor baby, Max. You will be okay.”_

_Alec slowly stood, wiping away the tears that were still falling from his face. “Max… Maxxie, please be okay.” Alec heard Robert stop talking unexpectedly, hearing footsteps stomping towards him. Turning around, that’s when he saw his father’s face; bright red and fuming. His forehead was creased and beads of sweat were dripping down his face. “You little shit!” He roared as his fist flew towards Alec’s face. The darkness was surrounding him again, but this time it felt overwhelming, like he couldn’t escape it._

_“Mum? Izzy!?” Alec cried loudly. “Where is everyone? Max?!” He was running through the darkness hopelessly but everyone was gone._

“Alec, wake up!” whispered a familiar voice. It was Max. Slowly opening his eyes, Alec saw his younger brother and sister standing over him with worried expressions glued to their faces. “It was just a dream, big brother” soothed Isabelle as she sat next to him on his bed, placing a comforting hand on his forehead and pushing his sweat ridden hair back from his eyes.

Alec sat up in his bed, placing both his hands in front of his face and groaned. “Sorry guys, did I wake you?” He looked over at the alarm clock sitting on his bedside table and thankfully read that it was seven in the morning.

“No, we were in the kitchen and could hear you. You sounded really distressed. Another nightmare?” asked Isabelle gently.

Alec looked at his sister and smiled sadly. “Yeah, unfortunately. I don’t know why they are happening again, this hasn’t happened in years.”

“Maybe it’s time to see doctor Loss again? She was really helpful last time… maybe she can get you through whatever is triggering you again?” Isabelle tilted her head to look into her brother’s eyes. “You know Max and I are here for you okay. We love you.”

Smiling softly, Alec chuckled. “I love you guys too.”

“Now that was sweet and all but get your ass out of bed, Alec! Izzy and I made the best gourmet breakfast for the three of us.” Max smiled brightly.

Although Max wasn’t a terrible cook, Isabelle, on the other hand, couldn’t even successfully cook toast with setting off the fire alarm. “Thanks… but I think I’ll pass. I don’t want food poisoning on my first week at my new job. I’ll head down to the café down the road, it looks nice.”

“First off… rude.” Isabelle scoffed as she shook her head dramatically. “Secondly… that’s right, Detective Lightwood. How could I forget you are finally starting this job that they offered you months ago? They must be desperate” Isabelle laughed loudly as Max chuckled quietly beside her.

“Ha ha…” Alec rolled his eyes at his siblings. “Now get out my room and eat your food poisoning so I can shower, please.”

 

After being freshly shaved and showered, Alec left his room to say goodbye to his siblings. Alec lived in a three-bedroom apartment with Isabelle and Max. They were so grateful for finding such a large apartment in the East Village. The three siblings moved out of their family home when Alec was 21. After many disagreements with his parents, he had finally had enough and Isabelle and Max were more than happy to follow in Alec’s footsteps. Isabelle was freshly out of high school and Max was still in the early years of his high school education, so much to their parent’s frustration, they kept supporting Isabelle and Max financially but left Alec to fend for himself. Isabelle was now in college, studying Criminology while working at a fashion retail store. Max was now in his senior year and looking for part-time work to help Alec out with the overpriced rent that they were paying for the apartment. Robert and Maryse had only given Isabelle and Max enough money to pay their school fees so the Lightwood siblings were always short on cash when it came to food and bills.

“There he is, in his signature grey shirt and black jeans” announced Isabelle as Alec walked into the kitchen. Small rays of sunlight peeked through the window, glistening on the marble countertops. Alec rolled his eyes at his sister and looked out the window. There were grey rain clouds covering most of the sky and the ground below looked wet. Sighing, Alec walked back into his room and grabbed a black coat before returning back to the kitchen.

“Well, I’m off. Do you two need anything while I’m out?” asked Alec as he grabbed his house keys and wallet from the shelf by the front door. Both of his siblings shook their heads so he slowly headed out the apartment building.

The Lightwood family moved to New York City when Alec was 16. It was a culture shock for all the children as they previously grew up on a big farm in Ohio. Life was good on the farm. His family was still happy then. He remembers laughing with his parents as Isabelle went through her many phases and obsessions and baby Max played with their countless farm animals in the backyard. Things changed for the worst though. Robert and Maryse began to fight more often and no one was smiling or laughing anymore. Alec was going through changes himself. He was just learning about who he wanted to be when the incident happened. After that, Alec locked himself away and decided that his family needs to come before his desires in life.

Moving to New York wasn’t the worst thing to happen to the family though. It gave them all numerous opportunities to succeed and learn so Alec was always grateful for that. New York also allowed him to escape from his parents and live with his siblings. He was now 26 years old and ready to move on with his life.

Walking out of the building, the Winter breeze was icy as it hit Alec’s skin. He cursed himself internally for not wearing his beanie and gloves. Alec loved walking around East Village. When he was bored, he would grab his camera and take longs walks around the city, taking photos of the beautiful red brick buildings. He loved photography. It has always been a passion of his but he kept it very private, not wanting to show others his photos. Only Isabelle and Max knew of his hobby. They were always trying to convince him to show more people but Alec just shrugged them off. He couldn’t think of anything worse. Grabbing out his phone, Alec quickly took some photos of the streets and buildings. He loved when it rained in New York. It allowed the greenery in the concrete city to shine against the dull grey atmosphere.

Slowly, Alec approached the café. He smiled, the café looked quirky and unique. The front was covered with beautiful art that made it stand out against the dull buildings it was next to. There was a little sitting area out the front which small wooden logs fenced it off from the path. The tables and chairs were surrounded by pot plants and other small decorative items.  Making his way inside, he could see that the café was loved by many. There was a board as you walk in with hundreds of notes from customers expressing their love to the employees. Alec automatically felt relaxed as he walked further into the café. The smell of sandalwood wafted pleasantly through the small café. The sounds of people laughing softly brought joy to Alec’s ears as he walked to the counter to order.

“Welcome to The Chairman café, how can I help you?” spoke a young girl, who looked close to Isabelle age. Her hair was naturally red and flowed beautifully past her shoulders. She was wearing a black blouse that was tucked into a pair of black jeans.

“Uh, hi” smiled Alec. “Can I get a standard size long black please?” Isabelle always nagged at Alec to try different types of coffee, saying that his normal order was too _boring_. She once tried to convince him to go to Starbucks and order some caramel concoction but luckily, he was able to get out of that one.

“Sure, did you want any sugar in that?”  

Alec’s forehead creased slightly as he raised his eyebrows. “Uh, no thank you. I’m not really into sweet things. Also, can I get that as a takeaway order please?”

“Yeah, sure!” The girl chuckled lightly. “Also, you are missing out! We have homemade chocolate brownies here and they are to _die_ for, maybe one day we can convince you to try one out.”

“Good luck with that one” he laughed as he shook his head softly. “How much do I owe you?”

“That will be four dollars, thank you.” The girl carefully took the money out of his hand before looking back at him, seeing he had started to walk away from the counter, “sorry, before you leave, can I get your name for the order?”

Alec froze and turned around quickly, “sorry! Of course, put it under Alec” he stuttered, feeling slightly embarrassed. He looked at the girl and saw she was wearing a name tag. “Thanks Clary” he smiled as he walked away and took a seat.

Inside the café was just as beautiful as the outside. There were fairy lights placed on the ceiling which made it feel magical. In the corner of the café, there were a few couches and tables to sit at. Behind them were two bookcases, full of different kinds of reading material. Alec was in awe when he heard the cracks of lively flames coming from the stone fireplace that sat between the couches. The smell of the wood burning and the noise of the fire crackling brought Alec back to when he was younger, sitting in their family room by the fireplace on the farm just after Max was born. Closing his eyes gently, he smiled at the memory. The main seating area where Alec was now sitting at, had beautiful wooden tables and chairs that were decorated with small pots filled with flowers and tea candles that made the café feel very welcoming.

“Alec?” called a man’s voice. It was like music to Alec’s ears. The voice was so strong but velvety. He felt weak at the knees already. Slowly standing from his seat, Alec walked over to where the barista had called his name. That’s when he saw him. The most beautiful man Alec had ever seen. He was a few inches shorter than Alec, his skin a tawny beige and with the most piercing deep-set brown eyes. His hair was jet black and styled so it was spiking up, almost like a miniature Mohawk. The man was wearing a low cut black shirt, showing off the top of his chest where three silver necklaces were laying on his bare skin. An apron with the cafe's name written across it in stunning cursive writing was tied around the man’s waist.

The man looked down at his feet and back up to Alec and chuckled softly. “Are you Alec?” Alec’s eyes widened and he felt his face going bright red. Of course, he was caught staring at the beautiful barista _by_ the beautiful barista.

“Y-yeah, that’s me. Sorry, I-I uh, must have been daydreaming” he quickly stuttered, constantly stumbling over his words. He looked up at the man who was still chucking and lightly shaking his head as he handed over the coffee.

“Enjoy your day, Alec. I hope we see you again.” Smiled the man as the coffee reached Alec’s hand. Their fingers accidentally touched which made Alec blush more. He didn’t know what was happening to him. He has never felt instant attraction like this before. When their fingers touched, it was like everything around them had slowed down for the split second. Alec knew he was attracted to men, he always has been but it is something he’s kept hidden deep down inside him his entire life. He thinks Isabelle knows about his preferences but Max is clueless.

Sipping his coffee quickly in front of the man, Alec smiles and looks down to see his name tag. “This is great, thank you. I’ll see you next time, Magnus.”

Walking out of the café, Alec could feel his heart beating fast and his stomach fluttering uncomfortably. Taking another sip of his coffee, he stopped to look down at the takeaway cup. Magnus had beautiful handwriting, it looked similar to what was on his apron. With his lips pursed together, trying to hide his smile Alec looked at how Magnus had written his name. _Alexander_.

 

 

 

 


	2. Magnus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus POV of their first meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry that this took so long to update. I've been feeling very unmotivated and I was super busy finalising finishing my uni degree. Here is a new chapter though. I hope you enjoy it! I am somewhat happy with it. The background is a bit iffy but I was happy with the conversations throughout.

The alarm blared bright and early waking Magnus out of his slumber. Turning onto his stomach, he groaned loudly into his red silk pillowcase. It was Winter so his loft had an uncomfortable chill in the air, during the early morning when Magnus had to be up for work. Slowly turning over, he lifted his silk sheets off his body and turned off the annoying beeping sound coming from his phone. Taking a few deep breaths, he slowly made his way out of his bedroom, walking towards his ensuite bathroom to get ready for the day ahead. 

An hour had passed and Magnus walked out of his loft feeling like a hundred bucks. He took a few extra minutes in his appearance today, spiking up his hair so it stood tall above his head. To intensify his look, he added a glittered black kohl liner to the rim of his eyes, making them look piercing. Shrugging on his favourite coat - black with silver chains dangling from both pockets - he made his way to his job at The Chairman cafe. 

The cafe was special to Magnus, him and his late friend, Ragnor built it from the ground up. Hours, upon hours were spent on designing a cafe that appealed to all people no matter what they were in to. The Chairman was quirky, but you always felt welcomed as you walked through the doors. During the late stages of the build, Ragnor suddenly passed away, leaving Magnus feeling lost. Months passed and he didn’t believe he could continue on with the cafe without his friend until he met two college kids looking for the chance to work with him on the cafe, helping to paint, redesign and work with him once it opened up. It felt like a sign from the old man himself, to push past his emotions and make Ragnor proud.

“Good morning!” Sang Clary as Magnus walked through the door. “How are we on this fine Monday morning?” she asked as she embraced Magnus into a friendly hug, gently kissing him on the cheek. 

  
“My dear, Biscuit! It may be a Monday morning but I feel fantastic. Must be something in the air, this morning?” He chuckled and he let go of Clary. “And you, my dear?”   
  
“There must be something in the air, because I’ve never seen you smile so much this early in the morning before” she laughed, gently pushing Magnus’ arm. “For a Monday morning… I’m good.”    
  
Shrugging off his coat, he walked into the staff room at the back of the cafe. “I just had a good feeling when I left the house this morning, today is going to be a good day!”    
  
Clary rolled her eyes playfully, “Okay, so when everything goes wrong today I am blaming you! Deal?”    
  
Quickly turning to face Clary, he lifted a hand to his chest “I am offended! When everything goes  _ right  _ today, you owe me” he smirked as he grabbed his apron off one of the chairs out the back.    
  
“Whatever! Enough chit-chat, we open in ten and nothing is ready” Clary announced, waving her hands around violently at all the preparation that still needed assistance.    
  
“Yes, ma’am!” Magnus laughed. Clary was like family to Magnus. She and her best friend Simon made him feel loved again after Ragnor’s passing. Working together for the best part of a year on the cafe and its grand opening brought them closer together than Magnus ever imagined. 

As the morning continued, more and more people passed through their doors. The Chairman had plenty of regular customers, allowing Magnus to talk for the most part of the day. He looked down at his next order; regular long black. Magnus loved making coffees but an order like this was just so boring. Why pay money for a bitter hot water drink when you could easily get it for free from your workplace? Magnus enjoyed making the ridiculous orders, like the double shot, vanilla, soy lattes with a hint of hazelnut. Looking at the name for the order he saw the name,  _ Alec.  _ Grabbing an empty take away cup he smirked as he wrote  _ Alexander  _ on the side, hoping it was the man's full name. 

“Alec?” Magnus called out, hoping the customer could hear his name being called over the group laughing in the corner.

A man, a few years younger than Magnus walked up to the counter. He had deep brown hair that looked quite unkempt; in Magnus’ opinion it looked like bed hair- but he loved it. His hazel eyes looked deep into Magnus’ brown ones as he reached the counter. Magnus wasn’t sure if the man was staring at Magnus so intensely on purpose or not, but he wasn’t going to complain. The man was gorgeous. He noticed who he assumed was Alec, slowly looked Magnus up and down, taking everything in. A small blush invaded Magnus’ cheeks as he chuckled lowly, looking down at his feet before looking back at the man. 

  
“Are you Alec?” he asked slyly, still feeling giddy that this God of a man was checking him out.    
  
The man quickly stopped staring at Magnus, looking everywhere but his face. “Y-yeah, that’s me. Sorry, I-I uh, must have been daydreaming” Magnus was in awe, how was he real? His voice was deep, deeper than Magnus had expected, but it was also smooth like butter. Looking up at Alec, he could tell the man was flustered, probably due to getting caught staring at him like he wanted him for breakfast, but Magnus couldn’t complain, he did look great. Putting in that extra time this morning was  _ so  _ worth it. 

“Enjoy your day, Alec. I hope we see you again.” Magnus chuckled quietly, shaking his head fondly at the man as he handed over his coffee. Their fingers touched gently during the exchange, making Alec blush more than Magnus had ever seen someone blush. It felt like a surge of electricity when through Magnus as skin touched skin. Magnus never wanted that feeling to go away. He quickly peeked up at Alec, hoping he felt it too. By the look of his dilated pupils, he did.

Alec quickly sipped his coffee and smiled, looking at Magnus’ chest and reading his name tag. “This is great, thank you. I’ll see you next time, Magnus.” With one last quick glance, Alec was out the door.   
  
Looking towards Clary, he made sure there were no customers waiting to be served as he shouted: “I told you, Clary, today is a good day!” Clary looked over at him, confusion written over her face. Quickly, Magnus pranced over to her, skipping every second step he took and he danced around her “I won’t forget about that favour you now owe me” he sang cheerfully.    
  
“Did you hit your head, Magnus? Literally, nothing has happened,” she said bored, playfully pushing Magnus who was now trying to slow dance with her.    
  
He stopped suddenly, grabbing both of her arms, a huge smile covering his face. “Oh, maybe not for you but…” he put his lips close to Clary’s ear “I think I’ve found my new favourite customer!” slowly he pushed her back before spinning on his feet happily, “He’s 6’3, stunning hazel eyes and looks as tasty as those delicious homemade brownies.”    
  
Raising her hands to her mouth, Clary let out a gasp. “You mean Alec? The tall, slightly awkward man that just walked in and apparently isn’t a sweet tooth?” she squealed.    
  
“The one and only!” Magnus sighed happily, walking back to his station. “Darling, he just met me, he’ll be into sweet things before you know it” Magnus winked, the smirk on his face growing as Clary scrunched hers up, disgusted.    
  
“You Magnus Bane, have no filter.” Clary casually walked out to the main area of the cafe, slowly cleaning tables as she looked at Magnus who was cleaning the coffee machine. “How do you know he even likes guys anyway? I don’t want you getting your hopes up.” She asked quietly.    
  
“I have a feeling, biscuit. I know you are worried but, I am not getting my hopes up. I’m just in a good mood because I talked to a sexy man, who was blushing as he talked to me.” He smiled, making grabby hands at Clary, inviting her over to cuddle him over the counter. “I think he’s going to be a regular, I just want to get to know him.”   
  
Clary hugged Magnus tighter, breathing in his scent. “I know, but you are my family and I know you fall fast and hard. I don’t want you getting hurt by some sex God who first, might be straight and second, might not be genuine.”    
  
Magnus slightly pulled back so he could look Clary in the eyes, “how did you know I was calling him a sex God in my head?” he laughed. “I know but I think you are overthinking this far too much, Biscuit. We talked for maybe two minutes.”    
  
Slowly letting go of each other, Clary sighed “True, I’m sorry. It’s just after how badly Camille broke your heart, I just worry every second.”   
  
Pushing his lips together tightly at the sound of Camille's name, he sighed loudly, “I know, Biscuit.”   
  
An awkward silence drifted over them both for a few moments before Clary cleared her throat, “Enough chit-chat, get back to work, Magnus Bane! Honestly, you are  _ my  _ boss, but I’m always telling you what to do. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”    
  
Magnus chuckled, “Touche… Clary! I want all those counters clean in the next five minutes, and why hasn’t the lovely Mrs. Jenson been served yet?”    
  
Clary rolled her eyes before running over to serve Mrs. Jenson.    
  
“Slack, all of my employees! Aren’t we all lucky I am here to run the place!” Magnus shouted dramatically to the remaining customers in the store, who laughed loudly at his outburst. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment and kudos! I appreciate all comments. If you have any ideas for this AU or any one shots, let me know on my tumblr - city-ofmalec.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy. A new chapter will be out next week. Please leave a comment and kudos! I'd love to hear what you think so please don't be shy about leaving a comment. All are welcome. 
> 
> Thanks again, friends.


End file.
